Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a golf ball incorporating an IC chip such as a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and a method of manufacturing the same.
Description of the Related Art
The following description of related art sets forth the inventors' knowledge of the related art and certain problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
Attempts have been made to incorporate an integrated circuit (IC) chip in a golf ball in order to record information related to the golf ball, such as material, manufacturing location, production date, and the like.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-205091 discloses a golf ball in which an IC chip surrounded by a protective layer is arranged in a center position of the golf ball. This protective layer is formed by a special rubber member such as silicone rubber, butyl rubber, and the like. A solid core made of the conventional rubber composition is formed in the periphery of the protective layer, and a cover made of the conventional resin composition is coated in the periphery of the solid core.
A golf ball incorporating an IC chip has not been realized because the golf ball is instantaneously and greatly deformed when the ball is struck by a golf club. Therefore, the incorporated IC chip is broken so that the communication becomes impossible. In the meantime, there is a problem of using the golf ball in normal golfing actions when the configuration of the golf ball is changed to prevent the breakage of the IC chip. For example, the resilience and the durability of the golf ball are lowered.
In view of the aforementioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball incorporating an IC chip that can prevent the IC chip from breaking when the golf ball is struck and can maintain the resilience and the durability of the golf ball.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. For example, certain features of the described embodiments of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages and/or providing certain advantages, such as, e.g., disadvantages and/or advantages discussed herein, while retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.